New version of: A human?
by killer43penguin
Summary: This is a new version of my other story: Me and my team were on the brink of retirement from the military after years of service. Then operation A.I.D. happened. Now we are lost in a world we never knew existed filled with deadly animals and demons. We must learn to adapt in this crazy world world. The story starts off slow but has a great build. Please read.


**Enjoy the new version of A human?**

There is darkness all around me. Even when I have my eyes open I can see nothing but darkness, but then again everyone would see darkness if they are covered in a blindfold. There is nothing to do here but eat, sleep, and stare into the darkness while slowly slipping into madness. I have memorized everything that happens from dusk till dawn such as my breaths I take a day till how many times I blink. It gets boring to say the least, especially when I don't get a TV nor any books to read, but it does give me time to reflect on the choices that I've made in my life such as how I lived, family, and my past. I stay awake at night or at least I think it is night as I sleep in a peaceful silence nothing could be heard at all except for my breathing. How long has it been since I have seen light or another person? I can't seem to recall, but I stopped counting after the 7th month, especially since the people stuck in the room with me do nothing but talk behind some walls and do nothing but study me. Currently I am behind 3 different cages made out of steel, am chained like a wild animal from my neck, arms and legs to keep me from doing anything that "they" might find suspicious, then there is all these medical things hooked up all over my body, and not to mention buried 5 miles below the ground inside a secret base. Or so they think that I don't know my location but after hearing some talk from long ago I realized that I am in California somewhere in the mountains. I don't hear anymore soldiers after my 3rd or 4th week here and they definitely stop the visits as well, but I find this peace and utter darkness exhilarating. But my thoughts and dreaming has ceased when old gears started to shift again after all this time. It is clanging and moving all around me. Then I hear footsteps. I deduced that there are at least 12 or so people here inside the room I am in, but I can't see them and there is some shifting going on with the people that are actually in the room with me. They don't say much other than look at my vitals and study me.

"Hey who are you people and what are you doing here? This base is only authorized personnel only!" I know that voice anywhere. It belongs to non-other than Dr. Chaplin. Not related to _**The Chaplin**_ I know this because when I met him for the very first time I asked him and received no food for 3 days. What an asshole. The room has gone quietly as there were some whispers in the room. I can assume that they were talking about ranks and jurisdictions that had nothing to do with me so I didn't care about. But there was one thing that Dr. Chaplin said that caught my full attention and this is from the man whose reputation is breaking people and turning their minds to mush or driving them crazy. He said "just take him already." As if the person just ripped his heart out from his chest. I have never heard him sound this way in all the time I've been here, even though I have no idea how long it's actually been.

"You are one very hard man to find Mr. Bartolo." A voice that sounded strict and serious said. I don't recognize the voice of the woman who just responded but proceeded to make them think I am still asleep. "Not talking huh? Well that's fine just be ready to move out. We are going to have justice on our hands." The woman said and the moment she finished talking I could hear all the doors open and more footsteps walking towards me. And the moment I felt a hand touch my chest I went berserk on them by pretending that I was going to break my chains and yelling at them. That is until I felt something pierce my chest. That was the last time I was able to move my body and scream. " _They must've given me a tranquilizer of some kind. I swear I'm going to kill these bastards as soon as possible."_ I kept thinking to myself as the chains from my arms were the first to go. I know this not because I could feel it but by my body being push forward and hitting the pavement with such force. I was actually surprised that these guys just let me fall to the ground without at least trying to catch me, and they did nothing except unchain my legs. I was wondering how did the medical equipment didn't fell with me since I heard no crash but then thought that since my body was going limp then they should remove it first to do anything they wanted. Then after what felt like half an hour someone finally picks me up.

"Hurry up rookie. We don't want to keep the hero waiting from his adoring fans." Some guy said as I hear crates or boxes being lifted off the ground. " _Are they moving me or are they moving something else?"_ I thought until I was lifted off the ground.

"Sorry sir. I will try to move this piece of filth faster so we can get on with our lives." The woman said as she actually lifted me off the ground and onto a gurney. Then I feel a scream as the metal of the gurney could be heard and the sound of a fallen person could be heard and air was being blown to my face. The woman who was carrying me was mere inches from my face and I hear her give out a yelp and she instinctually gave me a very hard smack across my face that you your hear the sound bouncing off the walls, but I didn't care as long as I was getting out of this place that doesn't have one bit of entertainment for me and the slap didn't faze me at all since I couldn't feel my body.

"Here rookie let me handle the prisoner." The man said. I felt safer with the man than I ever did with the woman since this guy never did any bodily harm to me. I felt the wind pick up from there as I was pushed inside a vehicle that had flaps in the back. From my perspective it was either a truck, a jeep, an old school truck that was used in WWII, or it was a transporter vehicle that the military uses to transport weapons all over their cities that has a military base in it. Then after being strapped even more inside the truck the engine roared awakening the sleeping vehicle and driving towards the elevator that once brought me to this place in the mountains. The wait for the elevator to go all the way in the above level was about 10-15 minutes and then we were off. I breathed in as much as I could because this was clean air or at least what is left of it since I could hear 7 vehicles outside just waiting for us. _"They must be our bodyguards."_ I thought to myself as we were well on our way. No one dared talk to me or to anyone while being transported but these soldiers or government officials or anything really needs to learn how to be respectful and create small talk since it's been so long since I had a normal conversation with someone that wasn't taking my blood or was just torturing me with science. Although I did feel kind of pissed since there are 10 people surrounding me. You would at least expect someone to ask you a question about what you did or at least how it feels to finally be free but no. These people are just rude. The trip was nothing new than long and boring with a side order of irritating since every time I finally had a feeling in my body someone punches me in the gut and then stabs me with a needle as hard as possible. I want to say that it hurt more than being stabbed but it has no comparison to actually being stabbed. So for the entire trip I was stabbed with a needle 6 times in 3 different places, I blame those dumbass drivers who were going too fast to do a correct swerve around a cliff side that I've been stabbed in the chest, my arm, and in my stomach. Since the trip was so boring I decided to sleep the entire time I was drugged which was easy since I was completely blindfolded the entire time, not that I mind since I haven't seen light in a long time and it will be stinging my eyes when I actually do see light again. It has been 6 hours since we have descended into the sky. I know this because I woke up 10 minutes ago to hear the sound of a huge engine roaring like crazy then there was this annoying ringing in my ears that only happens when 3 things happens when someone shoots a gun close to my ear, when an explosion is close to me, or when I am near a plane. I would normally fall to my knees and pull my hands to block out the hearing but I was still strapped to this gurney so I just tried my hardest to ignore the sound using a technique I learned a long time ago. I inhaled through my nose a couple of times and closed my eyes through my blindfold then clenched my fists and relaxed my whole body and limited my heartrate to 20 beats a minute which is half of what professional athletes train for and then there was silence. Nothing could be heard all around me. _"It is peaceful. Nothing can happen."_ I kept thinking over and over again in my head as the world keeps spinning around my body which is in perfect still mode. After about 10 minutes of this I proceeded to escape this state and when I do it was my surprise to know that we are not inside a plane no more or in California anymore. We weren't in the city that much I know since traffic couldn't be heard and there is no sound of people talking on cellphones or arguing with one another. I breathed through my nose to see if I could get any smell to help me figure out where I am. My eyes widened when I smelled it. _"It can't be. He's not still…?"_ my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming close to me. There could be no doubt about it. He's still alive. There was a heavy chuckle in the room as a shadow of a man appeared before me, my breathing was replaced by coughing as a wave of smoke was blown on my face.

"So the alpha returns, but what's this? There is only one out of the entire pack returned. Now that is a pity." The man said as he circled around me. I tried to fight off the restraints that held me back so I can kick this guy's ass here to the moon but succeeded to do nothing more than waste energy and fall back into the gurney and that made the man chuckle even more. "Still have some fight in you huh you bastard. Well let me fix that. None of you do anything to prevent this. That's an order." I heard a bunch of "yes sir" through the room I deduced that there are was more than double the soldiers that were transporting me to where I am right now and as I am about to question what he meant until I discovered what he meant. There was this huge pain in my chest that burned my skin. The man punched me straight in the chest and then used his cigar to burn my flesh. It stings only for me and before I knew it the guy kept throwing punches all over my face and chest for a few minutes.

"SIR!" A woman yelled out and caught all of our attention. "While I know you are Staff sergeant of the security and of the military squadron known as The Ghost Squadron I must advise you to stand down. He is here to pay for the disappearances of his squadron and he cannot stand court if he is in critical condition in the hospital." The woman who saved me walked towards me while excusing the soldiers who were standing there while this asshole punched to his heart's content. "Are you alright? Can you speak?"

"Don't bother trying to talk to this scumbag. Just tag him and bag him then execute him like the good old days when prisoners were strapped to the electric chair then had their faces melted off. Oh how I wish to live in those times again." The man said as he was walking away with a smile on his face. I didn't have a chance to say anything as I was pushed outside of the room and the sun hits my body. It felt amazing to feel heat that is natural all over my skin again. I completely forgotten what it felt like after all this time.

"Here we go people. We got snipers posted on every rooftop within a 2 miles of the courthouse and we got apache helicopters armed and loaded all over the courthouse along with 100 police officers and even an army barricade outside the building and some people in the sewers to prevent the target from escaping. And I also want everyone to know that h-" the woman who was talking stopped when she saw me. Everyone must think I am lower than a maggot but I ignored it all my life and I keep ignoring it now. The woman who was talking walked up to me and warned me to stay in the box at all times and I won't be shot. Not a very good deal but I want to live a little longer and not be killed like some dog so I nodded my head and was injected again but I didn't lose consciousness like the other times but I only couldn't move as I felt the belts restraining me loosening and were replaced with chains. I know this because I had my fair share with chairs more than I care to mention. Then without any warning the blindfold that I had disappears and light hits my eyes. The pain was extraordinary as if someone gouged my eyeballs with gasoline then lite them on fire, or as if someone with a knife was stabbing me in the eyes like a psycho, or maybe clawing my eyes out with nails. I shut my eyes as quickly as possible as I snarled/screamed at the same time and wanted to punch anything that was in range but because I was chained I couldn't. Then I felt something being placed in front of my eyes.

"Here are some shades to help you see more comfortably." A woman said. It was the same woman who defended me with my old Staff Sergeant. He was never really like this towards me a long time ago but just like time it can also change people. When the shades were placed in my eyes I opened them and it only pinched my eyes but not enough to be hurt until I adjusted after a few minutes to the light. I looked at the woman who saved me and smiled and thanked her for her kindness. After I could see what I saw was intimidating. A roomed filled with soldiers and police officers armed with pistols, shotguns, M16s, and AK-47s along with other types of guns but were strange to me and if that wasn't bad enough I was staring at them but was tied down hard. I tried to look down at myself to see what it was but when I couldn't I realized that it was the gurney that was like the one they used for Hannibal Lecter.

"Let's get this done people! MOVE OUT!" the woman started giving out the orders and then I was being wheeled somewhere. Through this huge hallways that looked like if it was made of gold because of the lights and the flashes from cameras. I am swarmed by people and cameras all in my face asking lots of different questions and yelling at me. So my "escort" weren't doing their jobs. Sloppy. But my mind stopped thinking all together when these 2 huge wooden doors open to a room containing many people in it most of which were security, military, police, news reporters, TV crews, and a bunch of other people in the room with me. Then I was placed in a box about 10ft x 10ft x 8ft and it was see through so I could see everything around me but to an extent because as soon as I was inside the box there were guns pointed at me from all directions as well as a few German shepherd dogs barking like crazy. The news reporters were taking multiple pictures of me while shouting questions. I could see that they have a few cameras pointed right at me so I know that I was being broadcasted. But to where?

"All rise for the honorable judge John Warren Hughes." The bailiff said as a white man who looked in his mid-30's walked through the door in his black robe and sat down behind his bench and in his hands contained a yellow folder that had many pieces of paper that made the folder look more like a very thick book.

"Please be seated." The judge said as he himself took a seat in his leather chair and then started to flip through the folder. "The case of the U.S. Military, DARPA, and 12 families vs. Humberto Bartolo in the case of murder, theft, AWOL, breaking and entering of a military base, attempted murder of James Jedh Barnum III, and trespassing on private property." As he read every crime that I have committed I heard gasps from everyone in the courtroom and kept seeing people nodding in disappointment. I could careless of what they think of me. I am who I am and I will be this way.

"That man killed my baby!" a woman screamed while standing up and pointing at me. As soon as she said that all the families started to join in telling me of how I murdered their children, their wives, their husbands, their brothers and sisters. A man even pushed his way through security and ran straight towards me with all his strength and as soon as he was within range, the man pulled out a revolver and fired 6 shots all aimed at me. Everyone screamed as the man was tackled to the ground by security, the dogs were barking, the judge was hitting his gavel screaming "order in the court", and there was the sounds of flashing from the reporters who kept taking pictures and the news reporters were talking to the camera the entire time. The bullets were stopped because the thickness of the glass and only made 6 small dents to this prison. Through this chaos there was something that surprised most people. In the room there was a chuckle. It started off low then kept rising until everyone stopped doing what they were doing and looked at me. I was the one laughing at them.

"Now that was fun. I missed the danger." I cracked a smile at them as I stood up from my chair and walked over to the part of the glass that stopped the bullets and felt their impact on the glass by brushing my hands past them. "After all this time being locked up I have almost forgotten the feeling of hatred and rush you get when getting close to death." I smiled and leaned over the glass to barely see my own reflection. I see a man who has lost his way in life. My short dark hair is now long black hair that reaches my shoulders, my once white teeth are now yellow, and my once smooth skin is now rough and cracked. I looked away in horror by how I look after all this time and went back to my chair. Everyone looked at me thinking I must be insane for that reaction to just being shot at. Some of the reporters went with the man who tried to kill me while others stayed. "Some if not all of you are probably thinking why I did these crimes, but too tell you the truth I am only guilty of 3 crimes that were listed, and no your families aren't one of the crimes." I sat down again and when I did I crossed my legs. One on top of the other with the rainbow shades still on and a straight face. "If the court would allow me your honor I would like to tell my tale of how all of this started down to when everything happened." I looked at the judge who had an understanding look on his face.

"Very well. We need to hear both sides of the story and only you know what happened in the 4 year gap." He then sat back from his chair as did everyone else in the courtroom and the reporters replaced some tapes in their tape recorders and the camera crews all zoomed in at me. The people from the stands leaned forward to pay closer attention.

"Thank you your honor." I cleared my throat and looked at everyone in the audience, the news reporters who were filming and recording the entire case, and every security personnel there were. "Like many of you you all believe I am a monster who betrayed his country, his friends, and even his humanity, but it didn't start this way. Like most of you know this all started 7 years ago on July 04, 2015 in Kentucky."

 **And that does it for this chapter. For those who have read the other version of this story I just want to say that I never really wanted to make that version but it was a mistake, but it was a fun mistake. This story will be a newer version. I will try to update as much as possible but with my new job it will be difficult, but not impossible. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be posted as soon as possible. If you have a chance read the first version of A human? And tell me if you want me to continue writing that story or to drop it. Like, Follow, Comment. Until next time.**


End file.
